


Now Would Be A Good Time To Be Any One But Me

by A_Verified_Rat



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Adoption, Friendship, johnny Cade is ooc, new siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:08:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28956939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Verified_Rat/pseuds/A_Verified_Rat
Summary: Life isn’t always fair to people who are.
Relationships: Darrel Curtis & Ponyboy Curtis & Sodapop Curtis, Johnny Cade & Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade & The Gang, Ponyboy Curtis & The Gang
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

I knew the good times would never last forever. My life has always been one misfortune after the over. Just two weeks ago my parents had been killed in a terrible car crash. I still remember the silence as the cop told us the news. He tried to look solemn but I knew it was just an act. They didn’t care about us greasers or what happened to us, they just came to deliver the news and leave. They didn’t want anything to do with the three sobbing brothers in the run down house.   
Their funeral was last week. It took all of my willpower to not scream and jump into the graves, pleading with them to come back, that they were asleep and that it was all a bad dream and my mother would come to wake me up and my dad would take me and my brothers out to play football. But no matter how much my thoughts told me it was fake, I knew that it was real and that they were never going to come back. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at their bodies in the caskets. It overwhelmed me with so much guilt that I couldn’t even say goodbye. I wish I could've but every time I thought of my parents dead bodies, my mothers beautiful blonde hair all bloody and tattered, my dad's playful eyes now lifeless and dull, his usual twinkle no longer there, it made me sick to my stomach and I felt like I could pass out any moment.   
The state didn’t care that they had just died. They saw an opportunity to tear me away from my brothers, what was left of our family and they took it. Me and my brothers were sitting at the table eating our breakfast in silence. Well they were eating, I was just pushing my bacon and eggs around my plate with my fork. Sodapop had just dropped out of school and taken a job at the DX with his best friend Steve to help Darry with the bills that were piling up. Darry didn’t take it too well. He yelled at Soda about how he was throwing his life away.   
“Darry, let’s face it I’m too dumb to get anywhere in life. Ponyboy’s the only one of us who even has a chance of making it out of here.” Were his exact words. It was true, but it made me feel uneasy. I didn’t like the pressure of having to work extra hard just to make it out of Tulsa and leave everyone. Don’t get me wrong, i’d love to get out of this town, but that would mean leaving my brothers and the gang. I loved them too much too just let them go like that.   
Anyways, we were silently eating our breakfast when a powerful knock on the front door echoed throughout the house. We all shared a confused look at each other. Everyone in town knew that they could just walk in, no one ever knocked. Our parents made it well known that anyone could come in if they needed a place to stay or some food.  
“You better have eaten some of that food by the time I get back, Little Buddy.” He warned, pointing an accusing finger at me, before standing up and heading straight for the door. Me and Soda stayed seated at the table, trying to hear who was at the door. It didn’t take long before an elderly looking woman walked into the kitchen with two tuff looking dudes next to her.   
“Hello there. Ponyboy and Sodapop, correct?” Her voice was shrill and I knew by the wide smile on her face that something was up. I just nodded not knowing what to say. I looked at Darry. He was standing in the doorway with an expression on his face that looked like a mix of angry and anxious. It looked like he was desperately trying his hardest to not punch them and throw them out of the house. He caught my eyes for a second and my breath caught in my throat when he gave me an apologetic look. If Darry is sorry for anything, it couldn’t be good. I turned back to the woman and the men, hoping that was going to happen wasn’t going to. But I knew nothing would ever go my way.   
“My name is Bree Johnson and i’m your social worker.” She said with a sickenly sweet tone that made me want to barf.   
“Social worker?” Soda asked, just as confused as me. He looked at Darry and back at the woman again, before standing up as well, like he was expecting a fight.   
Bree’s eyes narrowed a little before returning to their normal size. “That’s right. Since your legal guardians have passed away, it is illegal for you to be here without someone of age. So I am here to place you in a proper home”  
Soda’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped. I could have laughed at his expression if I wasn’t feeling the exact same way.   
“WHAT!?” He yelled so loud that I was sure the people down the street could hear it.   
Bree winced at the loud voice and rubbed her ears before returning to her composed posture once again. “Well, since you're of age,” She explained, looking at Soda with pointed eyes. “You are welcome to stay, but Ponyboy here is just too young to go without a responsible adult in his life.”   
I felt like I could cry. I just lost my parents and now this woman, this monster, had the audacity to waltz in here not even a week later and take me away from what I had left of my family.   
“But I am of age. I’m twenty, I'm a legal adult.” Darry pleaded, practically begging for them to let me stay. While I was surprised that he actually wanted to keep me, a little part of me felt extremely guilty. We had talked about it before, that Darry would give up his chance of going to university to take care of us, but part of me didn’t feel like I was worth giving up so much.   
“Barely.” Ms Johnson said sharply, narrowing her eyes at my oldest brother. “You’ve only been a legal adult for a few months Mr Curtis. And you have a full time job am I right?” Darry swallowed before silently nodding. “Then who is ment to care for Ponyboy while you’re away? And I heard that Sodapop has dropped out of school?” She asked, now turning to Soda with questioning eyes.  
He looked down at the ground before mumbling, “To help with the bills.”   
Ms Johnson let out a short but loud laugh before turning back to Darry. “This is what I mean. Your brother had to drop out of school to help you pay bills. How are you going to make sure that you’ll be able to provide for everything that Ponyboy needs?”  
Neither of my brothers had a good enough argument, so they just looked at our said social worker with pleading eyes, silently begging for her to let me stay. She just scoffed before turning to me.   
“Go pack your bags, I’ll be picking you up tomorrow.”   
A stray tear fell down my cheek but I ignored it and stared wide eyed at this cruel woman. She didn’t react to my expression and just stood there with an emotionless look in her eyes.   
I glared at her, more tears falling from my eyes, but I didn’t bother to wipe them away. “NO!” I yelled slamming my hands down on the table and pushing myself up from the chair with such a force that it knocked it over.   
Bree’s smile faded and she looked at me with piercing eyes. “No?” The smile came back, except much more sinister. She placed her hand over her chest in mock shock and laughed again. “I am sorry young man, but you do not have a say in the matter.”  
“THE HELL I DO!” I yelled at her, throwing my hands up in the air. My brothers didn’t call me out on my cursing, seemingly agreeing with me. “You don’t care about Johnny down the street who gets beaten to death by his parents every day or the many other kids who get abused or neglected by their parents.”   
Her smile faded again and she leaned in closer to me, like she was trying to hear me better. “Johnny’s parents do what to him everyday?” She questioned. I slapped my hands over my mouth almost immediately, knowing I had screwed up big time.  
We all wanted to report Johnny’s parents to the authorities multiple times, but we knew that if we did then he would be taken to a boys home, but I guess it was too late now.   
Before another word was spoken, the door slammed open and someone ran in. Bree pushed past Darry and into the living room where the mystery person was, her henchmen following her. Me and my brothers followed them just in time to see a bloody and bruised Johnny Cade starting with a gaping mouth and wide eyes at the woman like I had been not too long before.   
“Let me guess,” Bree said in a taunting tone. “Your Johnny?”  
Johnny closed his mouth and turned to us with questioning eyes before looking back at the woman and nodding.  
“Well,” She said. “I guess that me and the police would like to have a chat with your parents.”   
Johnny just raised an eyebrow, still not understanding what was happening.  
“I expect you to be here tomorrow morning as well Johnny, cause it seems that you're going to be joining Mr Curtis.” And without another word, she and her minions fled from the house, leaving us all staring at the door. A few moments of silence passed before Johnny turned back to us.   
“What was that about?” He asked. “Where are we going?”  
And with that, the dam broke. The tears flowed freely and I collapsed to the ground, clutching my chest. In just a matter of minutes, my entire life had been stripped away from me. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay here, with my brothers and my gang. I wanted my parents back. My eyes were too blurry by the tears and my thoughts were ringing so loudly in my head that I didn’t even realise when Soda had gathered me up in his arms and rocked me back and forth on the floor as we both sobbed our hearts out, nor did I notice as Darry explained the situation to Johnny and he too broke down crying in Darry’s arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes don’t have to be sad.

Luckily, it was a Saturday so both my brothers and Steve had the day off work. No one else in the gang had jobs so it was guaranteed that they would swing by some time today. But that didn’t change anything. We were still being taken away.   
We had stopped crying a while ago and after Darry had patched Johnny up, we sat around the living room, still trying to comprehend that this could be the last day we ever see each other again.  
Soda looked up at Darry with red eyes. We had just finished, but it seemed like he wanted to cry some more. “What are we going to do Darry?” He asked.  
Darry looked back and sadly sighed from where he was hunched over in his armchair. “There’s nothing we can do Pepsi-Cola.”  
“So what? We’re just going to let that old hag take them away from us?!” Soda screamed, jumping up from his seat.  
“Take who away?”  
We all turned to the door to see Dallas, along with Twobit and Steve, standing at the door with an unlit cigarette dangling cooly from his lips. His gaze shifted to Johnny and his eyes immediately sharpened as he took in the injuries and wet eyes. It was easy to tell that he had recently been crying and we all knew that Dallas would get revenge on whatever did make him cry. I think we all would since it took alot to make Johnny cry, so it had to be something bad.   
His look turned into confusion when he saw that we had all been crying. It seemed like Two-bit saw as well.  
“Whoa,” He said slowly. “Why wasn’t I invited to the pity party, huh?” He laughed. Dallas scoffed at the poor attempt at a joke but otherwise no one said anything.   
“Seriously though, why y’all so down in the dumps?” Steve asked, re emerging from the kitchen with a beer.   
Soda stared at his best friend before sighing. “The state came today,” Everyone was instantly focused. Nothing good ever happened when the state came to visit. It seemed they were right. “They’re taking Pony and Johnny away to a boys home.” He managed to choke out.   
Everyone froze, no one knowing how to respond. How are you supposed to react when someone says that two of your best friends are going to be taken away and you're never going to see them again?  
Dallas removed the cigarette from his lips and pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning against. “What?” He growled out.  
Darry sat up. “The states taking Pony and Johnny away. Apparently I’m not qualified enough to look after him and while they were here they found out about Johnny’s parents and said that they were taking him away as well.”   
Everyone turned to said greaser when they heard him let out a choked noise and saw him bent over, his head in his knees and hands folded over his head. The gang were the first people who ever showed Johnny any love and now that was being taken away from him. I don’t think he’d be able to survive.  
“It’s alright Johnny,” Twobit said, rubbing his back in an effort to cheer him up. “We’ll find a way to get you back. Right, Darry?” He turned to Darry. “We can get them back, can’t we?”  
Darry looked uneasy of having the burden placed on his shoulders, but since he was the only one of legal age, he was the only one who had any power to get us back. I looked back at Johnny who still hadn’t lifted his head. If you looked close enough you could see the tears that fell off his nose and onto the floor.  
“I’ll try,” Darry finally replied. “But I can’t guarantee anything. I don’t think they’ll choose me over a government controlled establishment.”  
“English please, Darry.” Twobit jokes, which I’ll admit did make me smile a bit.   
“It means that they would probably choose someone with more money to look after the kids than Superman over here.” Steve explained, ignoring the glare Darry shot at him for the nickname.   
Johnny finally sat up and rubbed his eyes and nose to get rid of any tears, but we all saw them anyway. It broke our hearts to see him like this. He didn’t deserve anything he got served in life. He didn’t deserve to have his parents beat and yell at him everyday. He didn’t deserve to be jumped and practically beaten to hell and back that left him a sobbing mess in Soda’s arms. He didn’t deserve to have to be so scared that he couldn’t even walk the streets without being terrified of being beaten up again. It wasn’t fair.   
“Well that’s better than nothing right?” Dallas asked, a small but barely noticeable quiver in his voice. “I mean, at least we have a chance.”  
Steve nodded. “He’s right. Besides why are we just sitting here?” We all looked at him like he had just grown two heads and in return, he rolled his eyes at us. “I mean, if they're really being taken away forever,” We all sucked in a breath at that. “Let’s give them a proper goodbye instead of just moping around.”   
“Yeah!” Two agreed. “Let’s go out and have some fun. We can deal with all this later when the time comes.” He said, shaking Johnny’s shoulders.   
Johnny gave him a small smile, before everyone looked at me. I sighed and nodded. And with that we were off. We did everything we could. We went to the movies, the dingo, where we met the Shepherd siblings and their gang, who Dallas told the knews to.  
“That sucks.” Tim said. “Let me know if you need any help getting them back.”   
Darry thanked him and they took off leaving us alone once again.   
We spent the rest of the day roaming the town, trying to find things to do. And to be honest, it was working. I almost couldn’t remember that we were leaving, and from the looks of it neither could Johnny. At the end of the day, we went to a local amusement park to finish it all off.   
Me and Johnny went all the rollercoasters and shared a slushie, which got him all hyped up. It was nice to see him smiling and laughing again so freely. Dallas gave us all the prizes he won and Soda was jumping and flipping all over the place. Steve and Twobit stuffed their faces with food. Darry tried to control us and keep us together, but eventually gave up and pretended to not know us, laughing at us from a distance. Eventually the time came for us to head home and we all hopped into Darry’s truck, me and Johnny sat next to each other. On the way back, I laid my head on Johnny’s shoulder. I hated that we were being teared away from our homes, but at least we had each other. To be honest if I was going to be living with one person for the rest of my life it would be Johnny. In return he laid his head on mine, wrapped his arm around me and yawned. I yawned too and we both fell into a deep sleep, our heads full of happy memories. And that was how the rest of the gang found them when they arrived home, the two of them wrapped in each other's arms, asleep in the middle of Darry’s truck.  
When I woke up, I was in my bed with someone’s limbs tangled with my own. At first I thought it was Soda, but then I heard his voice flow in from the living room through the crack in the door. I looked up and saw Johnny's peaceful face. He looked so much younger when he was asleep, but then again I think everyone does. In your sleep you can escape from all the torments of life, you don’t have to worry about anything ever again. Sleep is peaceful, well unless you're someone like me who has nightmares every night. Oh god, my nightmares. How am I going to deal with them without my brothers? They always helped me calm down after them. Maybe Johnny can help me. I very much doubt that the boys home, or wherever we’re going, will be thankful to be woken up in the middle of the night from my screaming and crying.  
I was deep in thought and didn’t realise Johnny had woken up and was staring at me. It wasn’t until he called my name did I realise I had been daydreaming again. I’ve got to stop doing that.  
“Huh,” I said.  
He just smiled at me. “You’ve been daydreaming for awhile now.” He nodded his head towards the door. “Come on. They’re gonna pick us up soon. Let’s have some breakfast before we go.”   
I had forgotten that we were leaving so soon. I just nodded, not trusting myself to speak in case I broke down crying again. With that we pulled away from each other, got dressed in some comfortable clothes and headed downstairs where the rest of the gang was seated around the table waiting for us. They were talking pretty loudly amongst themselves, but as soon as they noticed us standing there, the conversations stopped.  
“Morning,” I said, sitting myself in an empty seat at the table, Johnny doing the same. Everyone greeted us back in their own ways and the chatter started up again.   
It was like any other breakfast and I liked that. I didn’t want anyone taking pity on me or promising me things that we all knew would never come true.   
It wasn’t long before a knock on the door ruined everything though. While Darry got up to answer it, Soda took one of my hands and one of Johnny’s into his from across the table.   
“We’ll get you back.” He said. “We promise.” Everyone agreed.   
Me and Johnny shared an unbelieving look before nodding and letting go of Soda’s hands as Bree Johnathan walked into the room once more.  
“So, are you young gentlemen ready to go?” She cooed.  
None of us wanted to go but we knew that it would make things worse if we resisted, so we said our final goodbyes, had a blubbering Soda pulled off of us by Darry, and hopped into the black station wagon parked outside. We looked out the window and waved at the gang one last time before we drove off, not knowing when we would ever see them again


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes change is a good thing.

“Trust me boys, you’ll love your new home.” Bree said from the front seat.  
I huffed and rolled my eyes. “How can a boy’s home be any fun?” I mumbled quietly. But I guess not quietly enough because she heard me. She turned around in her seat to look at us. She gave us a questioning look, which we returned.   
“Who said anything about a boy’s home?” She asked, looking between the two of us. I looked at Johnny, who looked at me, before we both looked back at her.  
“That’s where we’re going… right?” Johnny quietly asked with a sense of fear.   
Mrs Johnson shook her head and laughed a little before turning back into her seat properly. “Oh no,” She chuckled. “Normally yes, you would be going to a boys home.”   
“Then where are we going then?” I asked in a panic. Where else could we be going? What if we really never see the gang again? Maybe they're sending us off to war. Or to work in the mines. Or they might even kill us and sell us as sausages. Ugh, I really hate my imagination sometimes.   
“Well, we’ve already had someone adopt you two already.” He explained with a smile on her face. “Isn’t that lovely?”  
Me and Johnny stared open-mouthed at each other. “WHAT!?” We yelled. If we’re already adopted then there was no way the gang would be able to get us back now. Bree rubbed her ears and put her fake smile on again. “How are my brothers meant to get us back now?”  
She coldly chuckled, looking at us through the rearview mirror. “They were never going to get you back anyways.” My blood ran cold. “Besides, Johnny isn’t your family so they couldn’t get him back anyways, unless they adopted him which would be impossible.” She looked down at the book in her lap, completely ignoring us now.  
Tears streamed down my face and I choked on my sobs. I felt Johnny wrap his arms around me and without any further invitation, I threw myself into his awaiting arms, letting my emotions flow. I felt my shoulder getting wet where Johnny had placed his head, but I paid it no mind. I didn’t care that Ms Johnson and the driver could hear us, I just let myself cry for all I was worth.   
After a while, our tears stopped and we just laid against each other in the back seat of the car. We hadn’t gotten over the fact that we would never see the gang again, but we had accepted that if we didn’t, we still had each other. The car soon came to a stop in front of a clean looking house. The door was painted cherry red and the walls were kinda pale egg colour. It looked like a house a soc would live in. Oh no. I hope we don’t live with a soc. Johnny must be thinking the same thing as me because I heard him gulp beside me.   
“Well here we are boys. Are you excited?” Bree asked. We shook our heads. “Oh come on now. Don’t you want to meet your new family?”   
To be honest, I kinda was, so we sighed and followed out of the car and up to the front door. We didn’t really pack much, seeing as we didn’t have much, so all we had was a bag each containing stuff like our clothes and other random things. I had a photo book in my bag that was full of pictures from my entire life, so even if we never see them again, we’ll never forget them. We hobbled up the stairs of the house, our legs tired and numb from sitting in a car for so long. By the time we made it to the door Ms Johnson had already knocked and was staring at the door in a stiff posture as we placed ourselves next to her. Not too long later did a tall, lanky man wearing dark khaki pants and a red jumper over a polo shirt. His black hair was neatly combed to the side and his face was cleanly shaven. His whole appearance reeked of soc, but his personality seemed different. His hazel eyes seemed warm, like Soda and he practically radiated love and comfort, unlike the socs back home who seemed to want to beat us up just for breathing.  
“Ah, Ms Johnson, hello.” His voice was like Darry’s but softer. It sounded pleasant. “Please, come in, you two boys.” He said, pushing open the door more and standing to the side letting us in. We tentatively stepped into the house and came into what I assume is the living room. The floor was a cleanly polished wood that looked brand new and the walls were similar to the outside of the house. In the centre of the room were two white and blue checkered couches with an armchair and a glass coffee table. In front of it was a TV much larger than any I had ever seen before, it was as big as a window. The walls were covered in pictures of what seemed to be the rest of the family and other random trinkets.   
“Please, have a seat. Would you like anything to drink?” The tall man asked.  
Ms Johnson shook her head and laughed as me and Johnny shyly sat down on one of the couches. “Oh, no thanks Mr Case. I just came to drop these youngins off. I really got to head back to work.”   
The tall man, who was apparently Mr Case, thanked Bree before walking her to the door and seeing her out. I turned to Johnny to see how he was holding up, but he didn’t seem too different. In fact I think he seemed more relaxed and comfortable than I’ve ever seen him, which I wouldn’t blame him for. I was feeling the same. It seemed this house had that effect on us.   
“Well,” Mr Case’s voice brought me back to reality, and I turned to him. “No that she’s gone, I guess we should introduce ourselves.” He laughed and sat down on the other couch. “My name is David Case. You can call me that, or Mr Case or David, or whatever. I don’t really mind.” He chuckled. He looked at us expectantly, then I realised he must be waiting for us to introduce ourselves. I assumed he should know our names since he is adopting us, but I guess he was just making small talk.  
“I’m Ponyboy.” I said.  
“And I’m Johnny.” Johnny said softly.  
David just nodded before standing up and motioning us to stand as well. “I’ll show you around, then you guys can get settled into your rooms. The other should be home by then.” He explained. Me and Johnny nodded before following him through the archway and into the kitchen. At the very end of the kitchen by the backdoor was some stairs that led down.   
“Those stairs lead down into Jacob’s bedroom.” He must have realised we didn’t know who Jacob was because he explained straight away. “He’s my best friend and your new uncle.” I would have to meet this Jacob dude first before I started calling him uncle. David headed up a different flight of stairs, with us following behind. “Up there is James and Brooklyn’s room, your aunt and uncle.” He said pointing to some more stairs, which I guess led up to the attic. “They have twin sons, Adam and Noah. Their room is up there as well. He led us down the long hallway and pointed to a door on our left. “That’s the bathroom, and that’s your room.” He said pointing at the door next to it. “Right at the end is my room.”   
He then pointed to the door on our right. “This room is Demi and Kylee’s room, and the one next to it is Sydney and Makayla’s room. Right at the end is Simon and Jace’s room.” We nodded, taking in the new information. Four adults taking care of ten children. Must be a handful.  
“Well, I’ll let you get settled in then.” He said before giving us a half wave before heading back down the stairs to do whatever. I looked at Johnny, who just shrugged at me and headed to what was apparently our room. I didn’t know what I had expected, but it was definitely not this. The walls were painted a dark red and the floor was a dark wood. There was a closet next to the door and two desks pushed against the wall. There was a bed by the closet and another by the window, each one covered with pillows and really comfy blankets.   
“I claim this one,” Johnny quickly said, catching me off guard before I saw him dive onto the bed by the closet. I looked at him incredulously.  
“What?” He asked before rolling his eyes, something that looked a little weird considering he never showed his sassy side before. “Look, I know you miss the gang, but they’ll find a way to get us back. Might as well make something of this. It seems like it could be fun.” I knew he was right. There was no point just sitting there. It was like when we were first given the news. We might as well make the most of what we had, and if they meant living a life that I’d probably never live again, so be it. Besides, I always wondered what it would be like to live as a soc.  
“Yeah, your right.” I replied.  
“I always am.”   
I stared at him in shock. Where did this new found confidence come from? He seemed to notice my shocked expression because he just laughed.  
“There’s no socs or abusive parents anymore.” He explained. “I don’t have anything to be afraid of anymore.”  
He was usually silly around me but never this much. But I guess he was right… again. So with that, I sighed and flopped down on the bed, letting the cloud like blankets swallow me up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The little things remind me of them.

A couple hours later, around 4pm, one of the formerly mentioned family members came back home. During that time, me and Johnny had put our belongings away and joined David downstairs in the kitchen for what he said was sushi. It was fish wrapped in rice and seaweed, that apparently came from a foreign country called Japan. It looked good and tasted amazing. My mouth burst of flavour and from Johnny’s reaction, I’d say he enjoyed it as well. He also gave us this brown looking beverage with ice in it called iced coffee. I’ve never tried coffee before but this was delicious. It was cold but I liked it.   
After lunch, we went into the living room where David said that tomorrow he’d take us shopping to get some new clothes and stuff for our room. Normally I would hate to use people like this, but then again he offered and we did need some new clothes. We made small talk about our families and what his life was like. Apparently he was a single father whose wife died from cancer a few years ago. Her brother, James and David’s best friend Jacob, along with his son Simon, who was Demi’s boyfriend, moved in to help take care of his three daughters, Demi, Sydney and Makayla. Kylee was Demi’s best friend and her brother Jace was Sydney’s boyfriend. They were twins, with Kylee being two minutes older, and their mother died from childbirth and their father was an alcoholic who died from alcohol poisoning when they were ten. Demi and Sydney had been devastated at the news that they might possibly be separated, so David had taken them in. He worked as a TV news reporter along with Brooklyn. He was actually how she and James had met.  
While we were talking about the twins Noah and Adam, the door opened and in walked two girls and two boys who looked about Dallas’ age, another girl who looked about my age, maybe a bit older and a much smaller girl who didn’t look over seven or eight. Behind them was a blond haired, stocky man who wore a weirdly patterned shirt and I could tell he would be alot like Twobit. One of the older girls had straight, short blonde hair and a very little coat of makeup that looks natural, while the other girl had long frizzy hair and wacky earrings. The boys looked quite similar, both had the same shade of blond hair as the girls (it seemed they all did) except a bit darker and one was a bit more filled out. The younger girl had straight blonde hair as well but it was longer and she was wearing a red jumper and a plaid skirt, looking like a student from a private school. The youngest girl had the same colour hair tied up in pigtails and an innocent and cute smile on her face.  
They seemed to be laughing about something as they entered, but stopped when they realised we were looking. David stood up and walked over to them before wrapping his arms around the short haired girl’s shoulders.  
“Guys, this is Ponyboy and Johnny.” He explained, nodding at us respectively as he said our names like he was introducing us as new kids to a school class. “They’re the new kids I told you we were adopting.”  
The short haired girl gasped and put her hand on her chest. “You look younger than I had expected.”   
“I thought you said they were 16.” The frizzy haired girl asked, staring at David with a confused expression.  
“I’m sixteen,” Johnny said, directing attention back onto us. “Ponyboy here is fourteen.” He jerked a thumb at me as if making sure they knew who was who.   
One of the boys gasped and ran over, leaning over the armrest of the couch, head in his hands as he stared intensely into my eyes. “Can you turn into a horse?” He asked so genuinely that it caught me off guard. “You can tell me, I won’t tell a soul.” He whispered, leaning in closer until he was right in my face and I was practically sitting on Johnny’s lap to avoid kissing this dude. The lankier boy walked over and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him away from me.   
“Come on Jace,” He let go of Jace’s shirt and extended an arm to us. “I’m Simon and that’s Jace.”   
We both shook his hand and greeted him back. Now the frizzy haired girl stepped forward and leaned against the back of the couch between our heads. “I’m Kaylee, Jace’s twin sister. I’m older by the way.” She said.  
“Nice to… meet you?” I responded but it sounded more like a question then a greeting.   
She slammed her hands on the couch as she stood up straight, making me and Johnny both flich. Just because we were more confident, doesn’t mean we're not going to get scared.  
“Well, now that that’s over with, I’m going to get an ice pop.” And with that she was off, straight into the kitchen.  
“I want one!” “Me too!” Jace and Simon yelled as they ran after her. Well Simon ran, Jace seemed to… skip? Hop? I’m not sure.  
The girl with longer hair walked forward now. “You’ll have to excuse them,” She nodded to the door where the three had run into. “Their idiots.” The smile fell from her face and the older girl elbowed her.  
“Sydney!” She chastised.  
“What? It’s true.”   
I had to agree with Sydney. They did seem like idiots. I could hear them arguing over the ice pops since it seems there were only two left.  
The older girl looked back at us and smiled. Her smile was sweet. It made me feel comforted and my insides go all warm inside, like my mother just hugged me again. That thought sent a jab to my heart, but I played it off, just in time to hear the girl introduce herself.   
“I’m Demi, this is my little sister Sydney.” Sydney rolled her eyes as Demi wrapped her arm around her sister. With her other hand she pointed down at the much smaller girl who was sipping on a juice box. Woah! Where did that come from? I’ve got to start paying attention more. “This little munchkin is our youngest sister, Makayla.”   
“Like me and my brothers.” I blurted out without thinking. I practically turned into a tomato when I did realise. Everyone looked at me suspiciously and besides me Johnny seemed to choke on his own juice box. Wait, when did he get that?  
The stocky man stepped forward, crossing his arms like Darry usually did when one of us got into trouble. “Like you and who?” He asked, raising an eyebrow like Twobit did. A lot of this family reminded me of my family and it kind of hurt. I really wanted to go back, but I knew that wasn’t possible. I must have zoned out again because Johnny shook my shoulder and nodded his head towards our new family.  
“Oh, umm. I’m the youngest of three brothers.” I explained.  
“So you’ve got two older brothers?” Sydney asked. I nodded, not really in the mood to talk about them. “Whoa. Talk about coincidences.” She chuckled a bit at her own joke, if it could even be considered that.  
“Wait, where are your brothers then?” Demi asked. I then realised that it was just us now as Makyla had run off somewhere.   
I looked down, unable to answer without crying. I really missed them. Johnny seemed to notice how I was feeling, like he usually does, and rubbed my back in a comforting manner, answering the question for me. “His brothers are too old to be put into the adoption system.” He explained. The others nodded and looked at me with sad eyes, now knowing what it meant.  
Before any more questions could be asked Makayla came running back in, a plate of cookies in her hands, and Simon, who was sucking on a blue ice pop, followed in after her. She stopped in front of us and held the plate up to us. “I made these in school.” She said.  
Me and Johnny thanked her and took one each. So did the other man, who we had learned was Jacob. I bit into it and was honestly surprised. This was really good for someone her age, or at least what I assumed her age was.   
As Makayla was handing out her cookies, the door opened once again and strolled a man with really good looking hair, holding hands with two small blond haired boys. I assumed that was James with his sons Noah and Adam, and the brown haired lady who followed in behind was Brooklyn. Brooklyn seemed to notice us first. “Oh hello,” she greeted, striding over to us as James picked up the twins and held them in both of his arms. “You must be Ponyboy and Johnny. I’m Brooklyn, but you can just call me Brooke.” We shook hands and I was soon greeted by the twins hugging my legs. Johnny giggled beside me and Brooke apologized. She removed them from me and took them upstairs for a nap as James introduced himself in a way that made me think of a mixture of all the gang at once. He seemed to love Elvis a lot so maybe we could bond over that. Hopefully, because to be honest, I felt right at home here. I know it was kind of selfish to claim this house as my own seeing as we had only arrived here today, but believe me, I’m never going to forget where I came from.


End file.
